Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Children and Guns - Adults Must Be Held Accountable

Boy in New Mexico school shooting took gun from home...(Reuters) - A 12-year-old boy who wounded two students when he opened fire with a shotgun at a New Mexico middle school took the firearm from his home, modified it and planned the attack in advance, police said on Wednesday. (Second middle school shooting in three months.)Adults are responsible for children who somehow achieve access to guns. Without adult involvement, children simply can't afford to buy guns and they certainly aren't qualified to make a legal purchase of a weapon.It seems to me, all adults who are involved, in any way, with children who obtain access to guns must be held responsible for what happens as a result. The adult person who owns the gun is guilty of whatever crime the child commits as a result of perpetrating violence with a weapon.Consequently, the Roswell NM school incident this week should include the investigation and indictment of parents. They must have owned the gun used by a 13 year old student, who came to school with a weapon for the purpose of killing people. The Chicago Tribune reports;

"We did find evidence that the suspect had planned this event," New Mexico State Police Chief Pete Kassetas told reporters, while declining to reveal any more details.

The boy had modified the weapon, a 20-gauge shotgun, to give it a sawed-off handle, which produced more of a pistol grip, and he had three rounds of birdshot in it, Kassetas said. Police said the boy entered the gym with the gun concealed in a bag.

The shooter fired all three rounds, with one going into the ceiling of the gym, one into the floor and one 12- to 15 feet away, into the stands where students were gathered, Kassetas said at a news conference.

The shooting lasted just 10 seconds before a teacher, identified as John Masterson, stepped forward and persuaded the boy to put down his gun, officials said.

According to Reuters, Roswell's shooting was the second to take place at a U.S. middle school in three months. In October, a 12-year-old boy, opened fire at his school in Sparks, NV, killing a teacher and wounding two classmates before killing himself.

Although these two school homicide incidents were perpetrated by minors, they all have parents or adults who are responsible for their upbringing.

Nevertheless, I've yet to read anything about the indictment of parents or adults in any school shooting incidents. Perhaps, some indictments were conducted in past incidents, but they didn't make headline news. Certainly, law suits must've been initiated, but these often take many years to resolve.

Meanwhile, all adults who are responsible for children who access guns should be held responsible for the damage resulting from the child's violent behavior. If murder results, the adults responsible for the children who access guns should be prosecuted as though they pulled the trigger themselves.

Children have no second amendment rights to own guns. Parents are responsible for damages everytime a child uses a gun.